[Edward Kirk]

While speaking at the GSMA Mobile Congress this week, Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman Jr. had an epiphany. He publicly conceded that the music industry is partly to blame for the extensive networks of music piracy and file sharing by not keeping up with technology in a world of advancements, and commended Apple in their efforts to enhance the music download experience.

"We used to fool ourselves," he said. "We used to think our content was perfect just exactly as it was. We expected our business would remain blissfully unaffected even as the world of interactivity, constant connection and file sharing was exploding. And of course we were wrong. How were we wrong? By standing still or moving at a glacial pace, we inadvertently went to war with consumers by denying them what they wanted and could otherwise find and as a result of course, consumers won."

He also stated that mobile operators are having the same trouble, with only 10% of cell phone owners buying music on their phones, the majority of which are ringtones.

"The sad truth is that most of what consumers are being offered today on the mobile platform is boring, banal and basic," he said. "People want a more interesting form of mobile music content. They want it to be easy to buy with a single click - yes, a single click, not a dozen. And they want access to it, quickly and easily, wherever they are. 24/7. Any player in the mobile value chain who thinks they can provide less than a great experience for consumers and remain competitive is fooling themselves."

While Bronfman has criticized Apple in the past for their iTunes pricing plans and revenue sharing demands, he praised them for their innovation in the music industry, even going as far as to suggest that other operators follow in their footsteps.

"For years now, Warner Music has been offering a choice to consumers at Apple's iTunes Store the option to purchase something more than just single tracks, which constitute the mainstay of that store's sales," he continued. "By packaging a full album into a bundle of music with ringtones, videos and other combinations and variation we found products that consumers demonstrably valued and were willing to purchase at premium prices. And guess what? We've sold tons of them. And with Apple's co-operation to make discovering, accessing and purchasing these products even more seamless and intuitive, we'll be offering many, many more of these products going forward."

Lastly, he praised Apple for their "beautifully designed" iPhone which includes "brilliantly written software." It has a "spectacular user interface" that "throws all the accepted notions about pricing, billing platforms and brand loyalty right out the window," he said.

[via Apple Insider]

[imagine engine]

I enjoy being able to download music directly from my iPhone using the iTunes store shortcut icon. Though what I would like to see is the ability to download movies and TV shows to my iPhone. Currently the iPhone iTunes shortcut only list music. Having access to these other entertainment services would make using the iPhone more enjoyable.